Good Clay

art class in elementary school was the best.
it was only once a week and a good break from the everyday routine;
a perfect alternative from PE, which i also loved.
there was something about staying inside on a hot day in order to mess with
paints, crayons, clay and paper mâché.

until you get to middle school and you realize not everyone is an artist,
especially you.
your whole life, mom places your pieces on the fridge for the world to see, and you’re proud of it.
until reality sets in and you just can’t seem to figure out why the artistic gene was not passed on to you.

one time i made what i thought was an exquisite bowl out of clay.
i couldn’t wait until it came out of the furnace to see how the color i chose was going to shine.

one by one our teacher brought out each clay “masterpiece” after they had gone through the fire,
each one looking amazing and unique on it’s own.

i remember thinking each one was mine, because they looked so cool.
but none of them were.
until finally….in all of it’s glory and splendor.. a misshaped, jagged, discolored thing came out of the cupboard.

umm…that’s it?

it was horrible.
nothing like i had remembered or envisioned when i started molding it.

my clay bowl i dreamed of eating cereal and macaroni and cheese out of (not at the same time) like a king from Egypt was barely fit enough to hold my spare change.

after years of agony and several misshaped clay pots later, i finally realized i’m simply no good at pottery.
in fact, as far as i know, none of my friends from the 5th grade turned into pottery experts or went off to work at pottery barn. (is that a thing?)

i simply did not know nor care to learn how to mold and shape the clay to make it look how it did in my head.
and no matter how hard i tried, i could not get it right.

i simply was not created to be a potter.

i know NOTHING about pottery; well, i’ve learned nothing more than what i remember from Mrs. Art Teacher from 5th grade.
but i do know, some people are good at it and most of us aren’t.

it takes a certain skill and practice, like it does with any medium.
you have to know your material in order to shape it and get it to do what you want.

a good potter is patient.
has vision.
is able to anticipate when things are about to be out of order.
knows how to correct mishaps.

a good potter knows when more water is needed.

when to slow down the spinning wheel.

a good potter knows when old clay needs to be fused with new clay.

a good potter knows when to start over.

a good potter knows when his work is finished.

i feel like the journey of a believer is learning how to be good clay.

in Isaiah 64 we find this metaphor:
“but now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.”

we, the people of God are compared to clay prepared by the very hands of God.

molded.
shaped.
made into something greater than we could make of ourselves.

every curve, every edge.
every detail about us perfectly placed by the one who knows how to work the clay best.

i love this metaphor.
remember in Genesis when God breathed life into the…dirt?

he made life out of nothing.
and now, he uses the dirt, something forgotten,
low,
ugly,
and creates something beautiful out of it.

you and i.

but clay doesn’t always cooperate.
to remain on the spinning wheel it must be properly balanced.
it must move when being molded.

once shaped, it is still not fit for use.

it needs to be carved into.
pieces can be cut out,
shaped,
removed to reveal a beautiful image.

each piece colored in its own unique way.

then, there’s the hardening process.
the pot is sent through high temperatures to solidify its shape and final color.

the journey to something beautiful is never easy and it’s never the same twice;
and what comes out of the fire is always different than when it went into it.

i feel like our faith journey is a process of letting go of control and allowing the potter to do His perfect work.

but what’s the hardest part about that?

the hardest part is realizing you are not the potter.
in fact,
you’re the clay!

you’re the DIRT.

you’re the once seemingly unworthy element shaped and used for a higher purpose.

that’s a hard pill to swallow.
but think about it.

i am not a good potter.
i cannot make a masterpiece with anything in my hands.
i simply don’t have the time, effort, skill or even the care to do a good job.

but God is the creator of the universe.
the blue sky.
the tallest mountains.
the biggest stars in the sky light years away.
nothing was made that has been made if it weren’t by His hands.

how much more does God know what’s best for me than me?

how much more beautiful am i in the hands of the one who made me?
makes me?
continues to make me?

He is the good potter.
it’s not our job, it’s His.

what is our job?

our job is to be good clay.

to allow ourselves to be molded.
to be shaped.
to be refreshed with new water.
to be stretched.
to be smashed and restarted.
to be spun.

some seasons the shaping is drastic.
others are slower.
we have to allow ourselves to be shaped and refined by the One who knows what’s best for us.

after all, if we are clay, how would i ever know what i could turn into if it weren’t for the master’s hand?

clay in my hands is barely fit enough to hold my pennies.

and we’ve already seen what God can create out of nothing.
just wait until you let yourself go and give Him something to work with.

i’m telling you,
it’s beautiful.

-gb

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